Congratulations, Jared Sullinger, you are the Number 1 pick of the week!

Congratulations, Jared Sullinger, you are the Number 1 pick of the week!

Despite every other major draft prognosticator saying it will either be Perry Jones or Kyrie Irving going number 1, this site just continues to give the nod to random lottery picks that have absolutely no chance of going number 1.

I wouldnt have a problem with it, but it sure seems like every where else its no doubt PJIII or Kyrie. I think this site is making people believe it is wide open, when espn, draft express, etc, have pretty much said its gonna be Jones, unless the Kings pick no.1 they will probably take Irving.

It's effin January still! Harrison Barnes could average 25-5-5 and win the Tournament and be picked #1 overal. Or Kanter could rip it up over seas and become the #1 pick. The site is just tryin to spice things up a bit lol

There's no LeBron James this time around, Cavs fans. There's no John Wall.

No, for the likely worst team in the NBA and the squad most likely to pick No. 1 overall in June, there's no sure-fire fix. Heck, there's no consensus No. 1, even. Add it to the list of Cleveland sports failures, right along with the fumble, decision, etc.

Quoting ESPN.com's draft guru Chad Ford (Insider only):

Coming into the season, North Carolina's Harrison Barnes drew raves and was even compared to Kobe Bryant by scouts. Other teams were crazy in love with Baylor's Perry Jones, calling him a hybrid of Tracy McGrady and Kevin Garnett.

Unfortunately, neither player has lived up to preseason expectations. Barnes has struggled to make an impact and is averaging just 11.8 points per game on 37.4% shooting. Jones has been better (14.1 ppg, 7 rpg) but not dominant.

Ford also says Jared Sullinger is “not top pick material.”

Me? I'm in love with Sullinger, despite his being a Buckeye. (I've got a thing with Ohio State, as loyal readers know.) What's not to like about Sullinger? He can score any way he wants. He'd bring people through the doors. He'd open the Cavs up to the Columbus market (though before they've declined rapidly, they already had established themselves there).

But the potential for a lockout might keep Sullinger and other top freshmen and underclassmen (Duke's Kyrie Irving, North Carolina's Harrison Barnes, etc.) in school.

With a hat tip to NBA Salary Cap Q&A author Larry Coon — seriously, bookmark that site for all NBA collective bargaining questions — the draft still would occur in late June, before the current CBA expires on July 1. So much like Cavs season ticket holders last year — karma? — those players have to make a decision with a very uncertain future. Declare for the draft, a lockout hits and you don't play for an unknown period of time. Or go overseas.

Or go back to school, risking injury. (But still get paid handsomely!)

For the record, Coon told me in an e-mail on Wednesday that he expects “the legit players might still come out, thinking their draft stock is high now, and the labor stoppage may be temporary. If you're farther down in the pecking order (like a second round pick), then you could be seeing 25%-33% of your career earnings evaporate (assuming a 3-4 year career). Probably not worth the risk, if there's a viable alternative in staying in school another year.”

He's the expert, but, especially for a guy like Sullinger who publicly has expressed his love for college (but so did Greg Oden!), I think many will stay.

So, as it's happened with the Cavs lately, things are stacked against them. They may be looking at a severely watered-down draft pool. (And, for clarification, if the Cavs draft Sullinger or whomever No. 1 overall, and there's a lockout, the Cavs retain his NBA rights for when the lockout is over. They don't lose him.)

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Jared Sullinger, Kyrie Irving: Who can save the Cleveland Cavaliers?

By Lucas Shapiro

Ohio State's Jared Sullinger

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been feeling the bad karma this season. LeBron James came into their house and destroyed them, Anderson Varejao suffered a season-ending ankle injury during a simple practice drill, and future building block J.J. Hickson has bounced in and out of the starting lineup. Meanwhile, the Cavs are 8-37, losing their 18th game in a row last night in Boston, and their 22nd straight on the road.

Head coach Byron Scott wants to put an up-tempo team on the floor, which means Cleveland may want to blow up the roster moving forward if they want to get close to the playoffs any time soon. What should the Cavs do first? They have plenty of nice trading pieces in Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams, Hickson and Varejao, and maybe even rookie Manny Harris with the way he’s played lately.

But what if trades don’t work out? Typically, building a team through free agency would be the next option, but there is one issue: Who wants to come to Cleveland? At this point, Minnesota looks more appealing. Rather than overpaying for a guy like Carmelo Anthony or Tony Parker, why not take the approach that the 2007 Seattle Supersonics took? They let Rashard Lewis walk in free agency, traded away Ray Allen, then landed one of our generation’s finest players in Kevin Durant and a solid starter in Jeff Green in the draft to rebuild their franchise on the fly. Of course the city of Seattle never got to see the results, but that’s not the point.

So after potentially trading away some of their nice bargaining chips for a few more first-round picks — and assuming Cleveland gets somewhere near the No. 1 pick in the Lottery — who could be the new savior of the Cavaliers in the 2011 NBA Draft?

The Joneses

At this point, if all goes as planned, the Cavaliers should get the first pick in the draft. If that is the case, it looks like Baylor freshman Perry Jones could be their best option. At 6-11, few frontcourt players are as skilled as Jones. When he wants to, he can be an unstoppable force. So far this season, he has shown improved consistency, but it will be interesting to see if that continues into February. He has put up decent numbers (13.9 points, 7.1 rebounds per game) but there are concerns about him projecting as more of a face-up power forward.

The other Jones, Kentucky freshman Terrence Jones, has the same issue. Unlike Perry, Terrence has put up great numbers (18.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg) against good competition. The only difference is that Terrence is three inches shorter than Perry. Both have great potential. It will be up to the Cavaliers to see how patient they can be if they draft either of these guys.

The Rivals

Few would have predicted before the collegiate season started that either Harrison Barnes or Kyrie Irving would be risky options in this year’s NBA Draft. With Barnes (North Carolina) having started his college career slowly, and Irving (Duke) out for a majority of the year with a foot injury, both of these freshmen have major question marks.

Barnes (11.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg) is the more confusing story, considering he looked like Grant Hill 2.0 coming out of high school but now struggles often to score in double-digits (37% FG) for a talented Tar Heels team. Should he leave for the NBA this year, he could either fill the void at small forward for the Cavaliers, or he could put them through another year of misery. Irving, a point guard, is less of a risk because we saw what he was capable of before he got hurt. He looked like a combination of Chris Paul and Deron Williams for moments, but would he have played like that all season? Now that he is missing all of the (so-called) competition in the ACC and it is uncertain whether he will return for the postseason, Irving would be a risky option at the first pick.

The International Option

There is no consensus No. 1 pick in this year’s draft. In fact, none of these guys are truly worthy of being picked first. This year’s draft is eerily similar to 2006, when Andrea Bargnani was picked first mostly due to the lack of hype surrounding NCAA players and the new age limit. In Enes Kanter, Donatas Motiejunas, Jonas Valanciunas or Jan Vesely, the Cavaliers could go in a new direction.

Kanter is a big-bodied powerhouse post player, Motiejunas is an prototypical inside-outside scoring European big man, Valanciunas is a high-upside project with size and athleticism, and Vesely is a highlight reel waiting to happen. All of them have potential to be impact players, but all of them have some maturing to do. Physically, they could all afford to put on some muscle. The international option may be intriguing to Cleveland because it would be a change of pace. Imagine if they had two first-round picks and could put together a duo of Kyrie Irving and Jan Vesely. Who wouldn’t want to watch that team?

The One-Man Bands

One thing a rebuilding franchise needs is a leader. The Oklahoma City Thunder have had success not only because they have talented players, but because Durant is an excellent leader who sets a good example for the rest of the team.

When you take a look at this year’s NCAA field, you’ll see Kemba Walker (UConn) and Jimmer Fredette (BYU) leading the nation in scoring. You will also see that both are leading respective Top-10 teams. While both have major concerns as to how their games will translate to the league, both possess the kind of leadership that every NBA franchise covets. Sure, we can question whether Walker (24.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.1 spg) can be as effective when he does not have 30 shots per game or whether Fredette’s (26.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.3 spg) lack of size and athleticism will prevent him from guarding more athletic NBA guards — but the idea is that both of these guys could be key pieces in the Cavaliers rebuilding face, not necessarily the marquee player.

The Hometown Hero

Some say the easy pick would be Jared Sullinger, but in this case, it’s not so simple. On one hand, the Ohio State freshman and Columbus, Ohio, native is the best player on the No. 1 college team in the country with an NBA body (6-9, 280 lbs.) and skill set (17.8 ppg, 10.0 rpg), and he’s instant marketing/ticket money for the Cavs with his local ties. On the other hand, the Cavs have been down this road before, and nobody seems to like how the LeBron situation turned out.

And according to some scouts, Sullinger isn’t a surefire superstar. He is considered a bit short for a power forward, and since he’s not an elite athlete, his game suggests something closer to Zach Randolph than the Blake Griffin prototype every NBA team will want at the four from here on out. But then Z-Bo has been a 20-and-10 producer for years, so that’s not the worst comparison.

The Cavs are tied for last place in the League in field-goal percentage, they’re fourth from the bottom in scoring, and fifth from the bottom in rebounding differential. Sullinger can come in and immediately raise each of those rankings. As much as a 19-year-old freshman can be, Sullinger looks like the safest pick.

I will say, this time in 08 Beasely was the no doubt no.1 and then Rose showed up for the tourney and basically swung that pick completely. I would go, right now, 1. Irving, 2. P Jones, 3. Barnes. But thats just me. Its not like Jones isnt producing at all, and i think he has a chance to heat up late in the season like Derozen and evans did in 09.

there is a BIG difference between mocks and rankings....this site still has Perry Jones ranked #1.....but the way dumb ass GM's like Danny Ferry think he probably changes his mind 5 times a day....that's why I don't like to do mocks until the college season is over at least....

that's why I don't like to do mocks until the college season is over at least....

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Yeah, thats what makes sense, so thats probably why i am taking it the wrong way when the website is probably trying to piece together what team is going to take what guy. And Danny Ferry blowing this pick is almost guaranteed. But its Cleveland. God knows they will have pick no.4 after the lottery haha.

they pay Chad Ford to sit in Hawaii and watch NBA Season Pass.....Jay Bilas is the real voice of draft scouting....Until the Hawaii Rainbows start playing in the ACC or Big East I'm listening to the person who actually watches the players who get drafted....

Has had crazy draft theories before, and some of his rankings are WAY off. I know, he has some great insight into the draft as well, but at this point their is no sure top pick material. I never really agreed with Derrick Williams being the first pick, but I think Sullinger has a good chance. Still, it is a Mock Draft early in the season. Calm down. I think this sites insight into the draft is just as good if not better than Chad Ford's, and I usually think Chad comes to the party after these guys have already been there on many occasions. Besides, I have a feeling Aran just likes making your head explode, Urban.

Everyone had Jake Locker as the number 1 pick in the draft before this year. Many of us (including myself), had Harrison Barnes #1. Irving and Jones seem likely, but one got hurt, which is slightly scary and the other has lacked consistency. I do not blame this site for shaking things up a bit, it causes more activity. Ever watch "Gunnin' for that #1 Spot"? Well, it is not an incredible movie, but it tells you about recruiting services, which you can compare to draft services. It is better for them to move people around in the rankings, it creates intrigue and traffic. If the rankings always stay the same, than what do they need these sites for? I think Chad Ford lives by this doctrine. Up until a few days before the draft, he was switching his top few picks constantly. Wall remained solid, but he had Favors over Turner and made tons of changes. In the end, when the final Mocks came out, I would be surprised if this sites Mock Draft was better than Chad Ford's. Not to mention, this site has much more cool activity and updates on the Mock's and rankings than Chad Ford. I would take what I get here for free over what Chad Ford makes you pay to see. I am lucky to have both, but I use it way more for recruiting than for Chad Ford, that is for sure.

its about 5 months away form the draft. Be prepared to see things change frequently. There is nobody in college that is hands down the nuber 1 pick. Going back over the history of this site, i think they have a pretty decent track record of being on top of things. But it is all just opinion and unless you have never been wrong about who should go number 1 5 months before a draft then dont throw stones.

if I had the name ESPN's in front of my name I would be able to get inside info like like him too....the real measure for him is that Andy Katz and Chris Broussard blow him out of the water on draft rumors and this site and many others are ahead of him on rankings....

I come to this site, for the forum. For the users points of view and definatly not the mock draft.

Every year its the same thing on here, some prospect with a lot of athleticism or a lot of size is projected to go #1. For example, last year this site had Hassan Whiteside going #1 for the longest time. That is ridiculous seeing as he ended up going #33, and cant get any minutes with the Kings. It was because he is 7 foot tall and is athletic. This is why this site has Derrick Williams at 2 and Alec Burks at 7, because they are oozing with athleticism. For me perosnally, I dont look at this site mock draft until about a week or 2 weeks before the draft, and they have all of their inside information. Throughout the season they're out to lunch with theire mock draft.

Why complain that sites do early mock draft?..Fans are just never satisfied. when there isn't a mock draft fans are like " put up a mock draft i wanna know what this site or other sites think" then when there is one they say " why do they have one up its too early"

i think it's for sure 6man race...Kyrie and Perry and a front runners TJ and Sully as a underrated guys and Enes Barnes as a sleepers...( and i love Derrick he improved his stock drastically but he isn't number 1)

you are talking about my coutry guys Jonas and Donatas? they have sleepers potential to guy as high as top5 maybe #3 would be a ceiling but for number one i don't think so..especially if they won't come to wourkouts because of long euroleague/eurocup seasons.

every weak you can hear "this draft is so weak" yeah there won't be any Rose Blake Wall...but hey many people questioned Blake's undersize and so on..so you will never know who could become the next big thing and guys like Perry Harrison can for sure)

I'm surprised..... I mean, even though this site is called NBADraft.net..... does it really matter how the draft order pans out? IMO, we have to wait until after the lottery to even discuss this. What I really care about is which team drafts which player.... and whether or not they will thrive in that organization/team/system. Could Sullinger be the #1 pick? Yes, very possible, but there are also 5 or so other candidates for that #1 pick. So, knowing that, does it really matter who's #1? In a draft like this, where there is no clear cut STUD (Shaq, Duncan, Yao, Lebron), we should really wait and see what happens. PLUS, it's freaking JANURARY!!!

Funny to see Sullinger at number one on this site's mock after it was commented yesterday that he hadn't been number one on any major sites' mock yet. He's always been high in the mocks since 2011 mocks first started appearing so him going to number one isn't a huge shock.

there is defenitley guyus who can contribute and some might be s surprise and play well enough to make this a very solid draft. It just doesnt have anybody who looks like a star right now. ALso, a lot of these underclassmen that are on the mocks might not even enter.

I think this draft is insanely weak. Jimmer Fredette wasnt even a first round pick a month ago, now some sites have him in the lottery. Even Irving, who was as legit as a college point guard as you could be, i could very easily see being simply a decent point guard at the next level, and not a game changer. Then you have the Jones' which are a total crapshoot, Sullinger whose ceiling is about as high as Turner's was a year ago, Williams, who has a good chance of being good, but basically no chance at being great, and then Harrison Barnes. Who im starting to talk myself into as the guy that someone is going to steal in the 4-7 range.

oh yeah that's right.....what were the spurs thinking....its like ESPN hiring Matt Millen as an analyst.....he actually does a DECENT job too but all of his cred is lost to me and I just can't in good faith take what he says seriously.....same with Ferry....when Ferry says to "we should draft this guy" in the Spurs war room who could possibly even pay attention???? if the spurs make a bad pick for the first time in history this year I will have no choice but to put it on Ferry's shoulders......

You gotta count that if you count the second round picks who did well right?. i also liked the Mcclinton pick but there are a couple picks by teams i liked but the player just wasnt good enough to make it

almost 20 years ago....I think we can cut the spurs some slack on their drafts....granted they did have about the 2 biggest gimmes you can get but still, Manu and Parker are about as legendary as they get.....and then you gotta guy like George Hill who even I questioned their judgement on and they never blow the gimme like with Blair....